Recently Malwarebytes Labs researchers have been seeing quite a few phishing campaigns using QR codes in email attachments. The lure and the targets are varied, but the use of a QR code to get someone to visit the phishing site is fast becoming a preferred method for cybercriminals.
There are several reasons why cybercriminals might want to use QR codes:
- The QR code is likely to be scanned with a phone, which are often less well protected against malicious websites or even completely unprotected.
- Phones are also likely personal devices which provide attackers with a direct path to sensitive personal accounts. For example, banking apps will be often be installed on the same device.
Read more…
Source: Malwarebytes Labs
Sign up for our Newsletter
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox.
Related:
- Hijacking Vertex AI Model Uploads for Cross-Tenant RCE
June 16, 2026
Palo Alto Unit42 discovered a vulnerability in the Google Cloud Vertex AI software development kit (SDK) for Python, and responsibly disclosed it to Google. Before Google’s fix, the vulnerability would have allowed an attacker operating entirely from their own Google Cloud project to hijack a victim’s model upload and poison it. By exploiting this flaw ...
- Attackers used social engineering to access third-party business apps and steal patient information
June 16, 2026
Heart monitoring biz iRhythm says thieves made off with patient health information and tried to turn it into a payday. The California-based cardiac monitoring specialist offers customers a wearable device that collects data, then analyzes it to create reports about heart health. The company said it detected unauthorized activity on June 8 and launched an investigation ...
- Dozens of malicious wallpapers found on Steam Workshop
June 16, 2026
Since late 2025, malware has been spreading rapidly through the Steam Workshop, the gaming platform’s built-in service for players to create and share custom content. The attackers are primarily targeting gamers in China and Russia, aiming to hijack their accounts. To pull this off, they are exploiting Wallpaper Engine – a popular live wallpaper app ...
- Council of Europe hacked in ShinyHunters’ PeopleSoft heist
June 15, 2026
ShinyHunters claims to have breached the Council of Europe and stolen more than 297 GB of data after exploiting a zero-day flaw in Oracle PeopleSoft and abusing that hole to hack more than 100 organizations. According to a post on the extortion crew’s data-leak site, the 429,000 pilfered files contain HR and payroll records, payslips, purchase-order ...
- Public and Private Medical Community Targeted by China-Nexus Threat Actor
June 15, 2026
Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has identified a sophisticated campaign attributed to UNC6508, a People’s Republic of China (PRC)-nexus threat actor, targeting institutions in the North American academic, medical, and military research community. While remaining undetected for over a year, the threat actor compromised externally facing web applications, deployed bespoke malware, pivoted to sensitive internal ...
- Japanese electricity giant apologises after physical drive with data of 10.9 million clients goes missing
June 12, 2026
A Japanese energy giant has apologised after losing a physical storage drive containing the data on millions of its clients. Workers for Kyushu Electric Power Co. apparently mislaid the drive, which had been left in an unlocked cabinet, the company explained in an official announcement. The drive allegedly contained information on up to 10.9 million accounts, including customer ...